Most Expensive Presidential Trip Ever

President Obama's $200 million a day trip,

The rightwingnuttia is abuzz with the news that President Obama's trip overseas will cost the American taxpayers $200 million a day, that 34 U.S. warships will be stationed for his protection, and that his entourage of 2,000 will use 870 rooms at a five-star hotel.

Except it's not true.

So, how did this truly ridiculous lie become a story? It's easy:

The numbers evidently originate with the Press Trust of India, whose report [based on one anonymous source] was linked on the Drudge Report and picked up by Fox News host Glenn Beck.

From there it exploded in what Rachel Maddow calls the "alternate, self-contained, right-wing media universe," where it has become "de facto fact."

And naturally, the traditional (sometimes called "liberal") media feels compelled to report that there is a story out there, never mind that it's a load of garbage ... because after all, it is the fair and balanced thing to do.

(source:dailykos.com)

Obama's trip to India: economy, counterterrorism, and Gandhi

President Barack Obama leaves on his multi city tour of Asia today. First stop -- India. He'll stay at the Taj Hotel, site of the 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, and meet with some of the victims' families. Between meetings with business leaders who want freer trade with the U.S. and Indians concerned about America's close relationship with Pakistan, Obama will squeeze in a visit to Gandhi's home.

The American president has said if he could have dinner with anyone, living or dead, he'd pick Gandhi - which should come as no surprise to readers of his memoir, Dreams of My Father, where he cites the Indian icon as an inspiration to him and his other hero: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The BBC's Tinku Ray tells us what Indians are hoping to gain from Obama's visit.